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FLORIDA: 

THE HEALTHIEST STATE IN THE UNION; . 

ORANGE PARK, 



JVeai* JacliSoiiA'illo, 



ONE OF ITS OBEATEST ATTRACTIONS. 



This PA>rPHLET Embraces a Description of the Climate, 

Soil, Health and Productions of the 

Entire State. 



Containing condensed Praclical Information for those who desire to make 

FLORIDA A PERMANENT HOME, 

BY 

DR. W. GANO. 



Published by 
ORAXGE PARK CO., JACKSOXVILLK, FLA. 

SUN JOB ROOMS. 



ORANGE PARK. 

While other parts of the State of Florida are widely advertised 
and described by a number of writers, little has been said of the 
iiuinediate vicinity of Jacksonville, on the west bank of the St. 
Johns river, extending from this city to Green C'ove Springs, 26 
miles south. 

On going up the river, on the west side, just aliove Mulberry 
Grove, you will see the letters " O. P." on a large sign on the 
margin of the river. This designates the northern boundary of 
Orange Park, and the same letters, four and a half miles further 
up, denote the southern Ixnindary, while in the centre of the tract, 
near the wharf, is the largest sign in the United States, being 
200 feet long and 15 feet high. Its surface is covered with 
ten letters of such a size that tourists can easily see, for miles, the 
location of Orange Park, which is already known as " The town 
with the big sign." 

The old Floridians know this as the " Col. Mcintosh Planta- 
tion.". Its original owner was Zachariah Kingsley, to whom it 
was granted by Spain in the year 1790. He selected this when 
he had, at that time, the whole St. Johns river front to choose 
from. In 1884, it passed into the hands of Col. Mcintosh, and 
from its great fertility, it soon became the largest and richest plan- 
tation in the State. It required over 500 slaves to work it, and 
was truly a princely home, while from its immense size, it wa.s a 
little kingdom of itself. 

This section contains the best lands in Clay county, and Is the 
most accessible and easily cultivated. The reason, in a measure, 
that it has been so lonu' overlooked, has arisen from the tiict that 



none of it has ever been offered for sale in small qiiantitieB, a* 
from the suburbs of Jacksonville to Green Cove Springs, the en- 
tire distance, the land was owned by five parties, therefore no at- 
tention has been drawn to it. The underbrush and vines, extend- 
ing quite down to the water, made it appear from the river, as 
being low and marshy, but this is not so ; the land now shows its 
bold bluff, in some places, 30 feet high, and continues a gradual 
elevation, until in a good portion of it, the height above the river 
is 70 feet. This elevation is attained only in the Orange Park 
tract. In all of its immense acreage there is no swamp or over- 
flowed lands to breed malaria. Until lately, it was impossible to 
purchase a small homestead on any part of it, but the bringing 
into the market of 

Orange Park, containing 9000 Acres 

of excellent land, will induce many to settle near the city of Jack- 
sonville who would otherwise have to go far away, and yet not be 
able to procure the advantages here offered. 

The Orange Park land commences eleven miles, by water, from 
Jacksonville, and extends up the river four and a half miles. 
Doctor's Lake, a beautiful sheet of water, connected with the St. 
Johns river, cuts it in two, the greater portion of the land being 
on the north ^de. Along the whole extent of river and lake 
front, the land rises boldly from the water, which has a clear, 
white, sandy beach. There is no marsh or muck along the river 
front, and a belt of woods, consisting of oaks, magnolias, bay, 
gum, &c., QKtends 'along the entire front. Three thousand acres 
of the land were formerly cultivated. Some of it has now grown 
up into small trees, which are easily extracted ; an expenditure of 
about $5 per acre wall make it ready for the plow. 

The soil is rich and easy to cultivate. There are no obnoxious 
weeds of any kind to be seen, but the wild plum grows luxuriantly, 
and the size of the fig trees, loaded with fruit, on the old home- 
stead, are an evidence of its adaptability for fruit culture. If any 
other evidence is wanted, a visit to the property of Mr. A. M. 
Reed, who owns and resides on the adjoining place, will convince 
the most skeptical that fruit of every kind can be successfully eulti- 
vated on the ivest as tvell as on the east side of the river. See Flori- 
da Agriculturist of April 28th, on the subject. 



Mr. Reed has oranges, lemons, grape-fruit, limes, peaches, apri- 
cots, plums, nmlberries, &c., in great profusion, and none show the 
effects of the severe cold of last winter, while on many places east 
of the river, serious injury was done to the young trees. 

• A Fine Medicinal Roaring Spring, 

slightly impregnated with white sulphur, gushes out of the ground 
on Orange Park land, near Doctor's Lake. This spring has a dis- 
charge of 2,000 gallons per minutq, with a temperature of 72 de- 
grees, and having a fall of 15 feet to the lake, is of great value 
to the property. It is situated in a beautiful (Jry thicket basin, 
at the base of a bluff 15 feet high. It boils and roars like a great 
seething caldron, throwing up from its subterranean depths this 
.immense stream of warm, white sulphur water. 

The annexed analysis will show the proportions of its medicinal 
qualities, and as it is brought into use, both for drinking and 
bathing, it must become one of the most attractive spots on the 
St. Johns, both for the pleasure seeker and the invalid, especially 
those who wish to spend some time in the pine woods, as this 
spring is situated on the edge of a five mile tract of these pines. 



One gallon United States measure contains 7.5091 grains. 

Total quantity of salts consisting of 

Chloride of Sodium 1.0858 grains. 

Sulphate of Soda 0.3843 " 

Bicarbonate of Soda 0.3223 " 

Bicarbonate of Magnesia 0.5063 " 

Bicarbonate of Lime 4.4713 " 

Bicarbonate of Iron 0.1647 " 

Alumina 0.0427 " 

Silica 0.5307 " 

Organic Matter trace. 



The thriving town of Mandarin, opposite Orange Park, is the 
abode of a number of wealthy Northern people. Land there has 
been sold at the following prices this winter : One piece, contain- 
ing 21 acres, having 80 feet fronting on the river, with a few bear- 
ing orange trees, sold for $6,700. Another tract, 1 2 acres, with 
10 young bearing trees, brought $3,000. 2\ acres unimproved 
wild land, $850. 4f acres, partly cleared land, $1,950. 



Among the advantages of Orange Park, a.s the location of a 
home, are : 

1st. Its proximity to Jacksonville, the metropolis of Florida, 
giving at all times a market for farm and garden products, and 
furnishing supplies at a reasonable rate. 

2d. The excellent water communication with all places on the 
St. Johns river and the North, the ocean steamers passing the 
place and landing at the wharf which has been built for that pur- 
pose, and is the largest and best ever built on the river. 

3d. The healthfulness of the situation free from malaria of any 
kind. 

4th. The excellence of the land, the richness of the soil, and 
the facilities for getting fiertilizers. 

5th. The fisheries on Doctor's Lake, which being exempt from 
the disturbance of steamers and traffic, serves as a breeding place 
and also a refuge, AA'here fish of all sorts congregate. 

6th. Its proximity to good schools and churches. 

7th. Being in Clay County, just over the line from Duval, the 

Taxes are Much Lower than in Duval, 

of which Jacksonville is the county seat. 

The making of a road from Jacksonville to Orange Park and 
Doctor's Lake, skirting the banks of the river, will give a land 
communication, which will add greatly to the attractions of Orange 
Park as a place of residence, as the town will soon commence set- 
tling up. This will necessitate the employment of many mechan- 
ics and laborers, making the place an excellent one for that class 
of settlers, while the magnificent river fronts offer to the gentle- 
man of taste and refinement the most charming natural advan- 
tages to develop a beautiful winter home. 

In fact, within the boundaries of this 9,000 acre tract, with its 
variety of land and situation, there are homes for all classes of 
people, and no one visiting Florida should decide on a location 
until they have looked over this extensive property, and seen that 
the statements made in this little pamphlet can be fully verified. 

Health. 

The most important question to be settled in regard to Florida 
by those who are looking with interest to her rapid settlement, is 



this: "Can peJ>oi)s make this State their home and maintain the 
same degree of liealth they have enjoyed at the North ?" We 
answer plainly and unhesitatingly, "Yes." There is not a healthier 
State in the Union than Florida. United States Surgeon Gen- 
eral Lawson reports that the statistics of his bureau show that 
the malarial diseases are of a much milder type in Florida than 
in any other vState in the Union ; perhaps from the fact that the 
air of the peninsula is purified by the genial breezes of the Atlantic 
ocean on the east, and the Gulf of Mexico on the west. The ratio 
of deaths from remittent fever shows that there is one death in 
36 cases in the Middle States, one to 52 in the Northern, one to 
54 in the Southern, one to 78 in Texas, one to 122 in California, 
one to 148 in New Mexico, and but one to 287 in Florida. Strange 
as it seems, Florida is the healthiest State in the Union, if figures 
and statistics don't lie. I have recently seen statistics of the 
annual death rates of the several States of the Union, and I find 
there is one death each year in about each 250 inhabitants of New 
York State, while in Florida there is only one in every 1,400 of 
its inhabitants. Florida in all the statistics heads the list of 
healthy States. 

We jcnow it is the impression all through the North that it 
retjuires one or two years to become acclimated to the South, but 
such is not the case in this State, although it is the only part of 
the South to which it is safe to come during any month of the year 
without fear of malarial fever, or the almost inevitable chills and 
fever. 

The climate is entirely different from that of any other State. 
It is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf, with 1,247 miles 
of sea coast, and the wonderful Gulf Stream flowing along the 
eastern shore for 300 miles within from 6 to 30 miles of the coast. 

The trade winds of the tropics are tempered by this inmiense 
«tream and blow soft, without their natural fierce heat across the 
peninsula. 

The average tenq^erature for the entire year is 67, rarely going 
above 90, and as seldom below 43 degrees. The intensity of heat 
experienced at the North during the brief summers there is not 
known here. The residents of Florida who went North to visit 
the Centennial all unite in saying they suffered exceedingly during 
the heated term, and were rejoiced to return home, where it was 



8 

comparatively cool and comfortable. During the middle of the 
day it is sometimes very warm in the sun, but there is ahvays so 
much of a breeze that in the shade one is not uncomtbrtable, and 
the nights are always cool, it bein(ji necesmnj to he covered with a 
hlanhet every night of the year. 

How juany of the inhabitants of New York and Philadelphia, 
last summer, when tlie pavements did not cool during the entire 
night, would have been glad to enjoy our cool saline breezes ? 

They could easily then credit our statement that our summers 
are even more delightful than our winters. 

A Siiustroke was Never Known in Florida, 

or a case of hydrophobia, as a rabid dog has never been seen. 

Neither do we have the fogs and dark, gloomy weather tliat 
surrounds London and the most of England, as well as nearly all 
other countries encircled by the sea. At the equinoxes, especially 
the autumnal, the rains fall heavily nearly every day, usually be- 
tween the houi's of 11 and 4, but the sun shines out almost imme- 
diately, never sulking behind the clouds, but breaking out and 
chasing the clouds away, as smiles drive away the tears on a child's 
face. 

During nearly the entire year there is a daily sea breeze, which 
commences at from 9 to 12 and lasts all day, either from the ocean 
or the Gulf, Florida being situated between them, and so narrow, 
they fan the whole peninsula. In fact, on summer evenings, one 
can sometimes scarcely sit on the verandas on the west bank of 
the river without wraps, it is so cool and the breeze so strong. 
There are sometimes as many as 30 days without a cloud, and the 
average number of sunny days in the year is 250. 

As for tlie winters, snow is never known in the State, and vege- 
tation continues during the entire year. The delicate plants of 
the West Indies are usually preserved through the winter. There 
have been winters Avith quite severe frosts, of which the past was 
one, during the month of December, when for 6 successive days 
the thermometer was down below 32, going as low as 26, but such 
is the life-giving power of this climate that vegetation was speedily 
in its former state, rallying at once, and now no traces of frost can 
be seen. 

It has been supposed by many that Florida is one vast hot-bed 



of malaria and fevers, but this is a mistaken idea entirely. This 
impression has arisen probably from the Everglades of the ex- 
treme southern portion of the State, which are, in fact, a large 
praii-ie overflowed with clear water. Wherever any malaria exists 
it is drawn towards the sun as it rises in the morning, and for that 
reason it is much healthier on the tvest bank of the river. This is 
probably the reason that all the old plantations were on the west 
side of the St. Johns. It is much more pleasant to have the sun 
rise over the water in the morning and the front of tlie house 
shaded in the afternoon. An east front is the most desirable all 
over the country, especially on the river. 

Most of the lands are high, dry and more healthy than any 
other state in the Union. To corroborate this statement see the 
reports of the U. 8. Surgeon Gen'l for the past 40 years in regard 
to the health of troops stationed here. These troops are composed 
of Northern me)i, and have been stationed all over the State at 
the different forts, and the mortality list has been lighter than 
companies of same number stationed in other garrisons of the 
United States. 

Wm. Stark says that during a stay of 20 months in East Flor- 
ida the monthly reports of the 9th regiment show that not one 
death occurred from natural causes, and that regiment was at 
several different forts during that time. During last summer and 
the unusually sickly season at the North, there were only twenty 
deaths in Jacksonville (a city of 12,000 inhabitants at this season 
of the year) for sixty days. Five of those were accidental. The 
health of the native inhabitants is proverbial, many persons are 
seen here over 90 years of age. In looking over the mortality 
lists we find the chief causes of death to be old age and consump- 
tion, the latter being an exotic, as it is not known among residents 
here, but so many consumptives come here in the last stages and 
they must die. 

A Pernianent Residence in Florida 

will save the lives of nearly all wIkj are predisposed to consumption. 
About one-half the inhabitants of Florida have come here since the 
war from every State in the Union, and all unite in saying they 
never enjoyed such health before as in this delightfid climate, where 
they can live out of doors almost all the entire year, breathing the 



10 

soft, balmy air, laden witli re.'^inous odors i'roin the pine fbrest»,.. 
which gives health to disea-^sed lungs and strengthens weak piil- 
inouary organs, which have been sadly depleted by many loajg 
winters at the North, where one is compelled to breathe furnace- 
heated air so much of the time, but here eoery day in the year ?«v, 
tu/i breathe the air «••< (/iven us by nature. That makes Floiids* 
a sanitarium. The most important feature in connection witi* 
Orange Park is its peculiarly healthy location. It has sllways- 
l)een regarded so. (See Mrs. .Stowe's letter in this bo(jk on lasS 
page.) 

Most of the land is 2() feet above the river, and as it goes back,,, 
instead of cypress swamps and saw-grass marshes, it rises mt»> 
high, tertile, pine land, varying in height from 30 to 70 feet al>ova 
the river. Aside from the little brooks running through, there is ac& 
an acre of land unfit for cultivation on the whole 9,000 acre tract- 

In fact, so confident ai-e we that Northerners can maintain tbeu" 
usual health through the entire year by locating at Orange Pai'k^, 
that if it were })racticable we would be willing to guarantee it tc* 
them. At anv rate we coidtl safely agree to furnish them fi-ee ail 
the medicines required for the treatment of any local disease cois- 
tracted d\iring the first year, if the following rules are carefully 
observed : 

1st. Although you can get as good water here as anywhere ii&-, 
Florida by means of wells, yet in nearly every Southern State we 
should insist on the exclusive use of cidern imter for all drinking; 
and cooking purposes. 

2d. Your house* must be built so that the sun's i-ays will fall 
upon them the entire day. It will keep them dry and avoid damp- 
ness. There is so much health in the sun. 

Better have the shade by broad verandas and what fruit tree» 
will grow around your house, than be subject to the contiuiiaS' 
dampness which attends the large moss-laden forest trees during 
the summer months. 

3d. Do not expose yourselves by sitting out in the sunnner eve- 
nings in the dew, which is so heavy here. Either be under the cover 
4jf the veranda or else in the house, and if the evenings are sonse- 
what cool have a little fire at sundown, even if you have to opew 
the windows and doors. 

These rules, strictly followed, with eating good, nourl'jhiMg- 



11 

food, you will find will insure you a degree of health you never 
knew it was your lot to possess, especially if you have been sub- 
jected to the sudden changes of the Northern and Middle Statesi. 

This Climate is Especially Adapted to Old People. 

As they grow older, their blood becomes thinner, and they are more 
sensitive to the intense rigor of the northern wintei's each year. Also, 
any who have impaired circulation, will find that spending their win- 
ters in this life-giving, health-restoring elimate, will prolong their 
lives, no doubt, for many years. There are hundreds of our lead- 
ing citizens, now in the State, who came here years ago, clinging- 
to their " last hope " that Florida might save them. They found 
that hope realized under our genial clime, and have since devoted 
themselves to developing the country. Indeed, nearly all the de- 
velopinent Florida has had so far, has been at the hands of this 
ela«!S of people, who were driven here to save their lives, a.s no 
other spot in America promised them even a month's lease of life. 
The Hon. Michael C. Kerr, late Speaker of the House of Repre- 
sentatives, made the following reply to a Member from this State, 
who sought his assistance in obtaining some harbor appropriation : 
" For Florida ! yes, I will do what I can to assist her for this rea- 
son: There is not a family in America but has some viember in if 
whose life would be saved, or, at least, prolonged by living within her 
borders; really the whole peninsula is a vast sanitarium." 

Those who are afflicted with any pulmonary complaints, 
catarrh, rheumatism, neuralgia, and nervous debility, should make 
Florida their home. These are facts plainly stated. We could 
get letters from thousands, that would till four or five books like 
this, corroborating these statements and attesting to the truthful- 
ness of these suggestions. 

It is often said, if Florida had no other attractions, her climate, 
when it is fully known, would make her a grand success. As one 
evidence of her present as well as prospective success, we will call 
attention to the fact that this is the only State in the Union where 
real estate has not depreciated in value during the pa.st three years. 
Instead of depreciating, the price of land has been steadily ad- 
vancing ; in some places it has doubled within four years, and is 
still on the increase. Assuredly, a great and noble future awaits 
this beautiful growing State, whose broad acres offer homes to the 



12 

multitude, aud whose balmy air Ls waiting to give new life to the 
thousands who are vainly struggling to regain their health under 
the rigors of a northern climate. 

Orange Culture. 

This fascinating branch of industry is still in its infancy in 
Florida. It has been, so far, mostly a series of experiments, con- 
ducted principally by a class of men who came here for their 
health, being driven away from the northern clime to seek the 
balmy air of this, "the only Florida." The beauty of the grow- 
ing crop, the prolific yield, and the increasing demand for the 
fruit, at largely remunerative prices, has attracted the attention of 
most of the new comers, and this has awakened the old settlers to 
a realizing sense of the advantage and value of an orange grove. 

The remark is often made, that orange growing W'ill be overdone 
and will soon prove disastrous to those who are so largely invest- 
ing in these lands, but we have this fact before us, that nearly 
every State in the Union produces apples, and has constantly in- 
creased the production for the past fifty years, and the country has 
never yet been overstocked ; in fact, orchards are being planted 
now with as much prospect of remuneration as there was thirty 
years ago. In view of this fact, with the limited amount of land 
in Florida adapted to orange culture, and the ever increasing de- 
mand for Florida oranges, it does not seem probable that the busi- 
ness of orange growing can be overdone, in this one State. The 
more these oranges are known, the greater will be the demand for 
them, and when this rich, ripe and delicious fruit can take the 
place of the tasteless, insipid Mediterranean oranges, (that are 
picked half ripe, and change color in transit, without maturing,) 
and can be sold on the street corners at the North, at 40 cents per 
doKen, the demand will be tenfo/d what it is to-day. And as to 
prices, experienced growers tell us, if they can get $1 per hundred, 
they do not want a better jjaying crop or a surer one, They have 
brought $3 and $4 per hundred this year. ' It is estimated that 
100 full bearing trees will pay interest on $20,000. 

For the past two winters, there has been an European demand 
for this fruit that will continually increase, for the reason that 



• 13- 
Florida Produce.s the Best Oranges in tlie World, 

they having a peculiar viclmess aud flavor not found in any other 
fruit. Also, tha«e orange.s mature at a season when there is no 
other fruit to come in competition with it on either continent. 
This crop is peculiarly a(hipted to successful cultivation on ac- 
count of giving nearly five months in which to market it, while 
other fruit crops have to be gathered at maturity. 

The past winter has demonstrated to orange growers \vhat they 
never fully knew before, that the orange can stand a lower degree 
of cold iu Florida and live, than in any other country in the 
world ; also, that nature has adapted the whole of this peninsula, 
from Feruaudina south, on both sides of the river, to the growing 
of this fruit. . It is now apparent that the t<ured orange belt is 
from Palatka to Feruandiua. Li tJi!>< belt, the mp, during 
the winter months, remains in the rjoots and the cold is not so likely 
to injure the tree as in the more southern sections, where the sap being 
up in the tree, renders it more active and liable to injury from the 
frost. This is no theory ; the past winter has made it a fact. It 
has also fully shown that there have been two mistaken notions in 
this State in regard to orange culture. First, there is no " frost 
line " in Florida. Second, water protection is, to a great extent, 
an imaginary idea. The groves south of Orange 'Lake and east 
of the St. Johns, suffered more than some groves on the west side, 
which had the best now known protection — a heavy belt of woods 
on the north and west. Any cold that is severe enough to hurt 
the orange, cannot be averted by any water surftice in Florida ; 
they are not broad enough. AVith these facts in view, the atten- 
tion of parties starting orange groves now, is directed to sections 
near the marketable centres of the State, ivhere they can easily 
dispose of their agricultural ptroducts irhile their groves are being 
developed. Also, the lands that will grow bountifully all the 
large variety of crops Florida only can produce, are rapidly be- 
ing sought after, as parties that have located on the light sandy 
soil that so much of this State is covered with, are now realizing 
that " man cannot live on oranges alone." 

Orange Park is situated nearly in the centre of this belt, and 
ha^, among its several thousand acres, some of the 



.14 

Bent T>and in Florida for Orange Growing. 

In order to cultivate the orange profitably, the grove must he located 
on land that ivill groiv supplies for both, house and stable. 

In placing this tract before the public, we can fully verify all 
that is said about its fertility by responsible parties, who knew its 
richness as a sugar plantation. Every acre is adapted to orange 
culture, small fruits, vegetables and field crops, including sugar- 
cane, tobacco, &c. The most of the extensive river and lake 
frontage, 7] miles, is a fine shell hammock extending one mile 
back. Adjoining this is heavy pine land with rich, dark soil, hav- 
ing a clay and marl foundation. Almost the entire tract is from 
10 to 70 feet above the liver. These lands are best adapted for 
orange culture. Many a grove now planted in the State is going 
to prove a failure, from one of three reasons : It is on too poor light, 
»andy soil, or is on lands that are too low and wet, so that 
when the tap j-oot runs to water the trees will stop growing, or 
else they are on laud with a hard-pan foundation, which tlie roots 
cannot penetrate, hence they are stunted for nourishment. The 
growing of this crop is not all poetry, it has many stern realities 
in its successful development, but there is not another tree known 
that is so susceptible to care and cultivation and that shows swoh 
results for a little attention. 

Fine thrifty trees that are well taken care of have very few 
enemies, (the neglected groves are the ones attacked by scale insect, 
die-back, &c.,) and they are easily overcome. We have not space 
in this little pamphlet to go into the different plans for starting 
orange groves. Thei'e are a number of these books that give full 
directions in the matter. (Bee Fowler on Orange Culture.) We 
have ah-eady set out 

3,500 ^lees at Orange Park, 

and purchasers of lots on the river will have one acre of five year 
old sweet trees growing on them. This is tlie only tract we know 
of on the St Johns where parties who wLsh to start grovas can 
have them looked after and the best attention given to the wants 
of each grove. There is no surer real estate investment in America 
than a judiciously selected location for a home on the banks of 
the St. Johns River, and to grow the most beautiful fruit ever 



15 

^ven to man by a bountiful Creator. See the language of Mr. J.. 
11. Fowler, of Port Orange : " Of all the fruits we unhe?<itatingly 
pronounce the orange queen. Behold the per{>etually green foliage, 
besprinkled with snow-white blossoms of sweetest perfumes, or 
aAlorued with luscious fruit, whose color is shared only with the 
Mttost precious of metals and reflected from the sun-kissed rain 
drop. Called forth from her native forests in the East, this queen 
eoaies forth in the glory of the morning sun to open and adorn a 
tlay of horticulture, more brilliant than any fabled golden age of 
the past." 

We could fill tin's painphlet with instances of partie>s who are 
wiaking this enterprise a success in connection with other crops, 
and groves that have l)een planted but a few years and (.mly cost 
their owners a few hundred dollars, cannot be bought now for ie.-w 
than as many tlu)usands. Thus showing it is not only a pleasure 
but very profitable to cultivate the orange t^\ithfnlly. 

We will mention one or two instances. Mr. P. P. Bishop, of 
^n Mateo, has charge of a grove owned by two widow ladies at 
the North. They bought 12 acres, and the present estimate Is 
that 4 years from the day the axe was first put in it the grove will 
be worth $20,000, while the aggregate cost, including purchase 
riioney, was only $8,000, Col. Dancy estimates the j)rofits from 
his grove last year at $20 per tree. Mrs. Stowe's brought her $15 
per tree. We will sell the land and plant orange groves at the 
following prices, taking 5 acres of our lowest priced lands a.s a 
ijasis of estimate, larger areas somewhat lower in proportion : 

Five acres pine orange laud, S20 per acre §100.00 

Fencing same 80.00 

Clearing land and plowing, S80 per acre 180.00 

Two drive wells ior watering, $15 oO.OO 

Two hundred and fifty sour stumps, 2 to 4 inches in ili- 

a meter, or 4 year >A<\ <\seex ^ecllii 250.00 

$590.00 
We Avill also take charge of groves, for parties desiring it, on 
the following terjns : We will give the trees proper cultivation an<i 
fertilizers at S20 per atu-e. This will cost on 5 acres for 4 years 
$400. At this time the trees will average 200 oranges, and they 
will be worth, at the lowest calculation, $15 per tree, or $750 per 
^cre. If you get 2 cents for the oranges, (and thLs year they 



16 

brought 3 and 4 cents,^ it will give you $4 per tree, that cost at 
the end of the 4 years, including purchase money and interest on 
investment, only $4, thus paying for them in one year's crop. As 
these lands are settled up the value of your land is increasing, 
and you have a fair estimate of orange culture. Parties setting 
out and taking care of their groves could do so at about two-thirds 
this cost. After the fourth year from budding the increase is 
very rapid. There are thousands of trees in the State that bear 
from 2,000 to 4,000 oranges each year. 

For the reliability of these figures, as to the product of groves 
under cultivation, we take the liberty to refer you to the follow- 
ing well-known growers in different parts of the State : 

Mr. S. H. Tallman, Mandarin ; Mr. Armstrong, Pi'colata ; J. 
A. Harris, Orange Lake ; P. P. Bishop, San Mateo ; Geo. W. 
Wylie, Mellonville ; A. M. Reed, Mulberry Grove, adjoining 
Orange Park. It is unnecessary to enumerate more. We know 
the remark is often made that figures look well on paper, but this 
estimate is not rose-colored, it is what we believe, most sincerely? 
will be the average results of the expenditure of this amount of 
capital and labor, based on what has been accomplished by hun- 
dreds who are now the fortunate possessors of thrifty groves, both 
residents and non-residents, and remembering that what man has 
done man may do. We hold out these mducemente to parties to 
come and settle at Orange Park. Also, we are happy to announce 
that the Creator ha.s not yet given any one county or location a 
patent right to cultivate the orange, to the exclusion of other 
sections, on the peninsula of Florida. 

Variety of Crops R^iisetl in Florida. 

No part of the world gives such a variety of crops as this State, 
and they are so divided you can work your land 300 days in the 
year, rotating your crops. Over eighty distinct tropical and semi- 
tropical productions can be raised in this soil and climate, with 
the judicious use of fertilizers. There is no reason why the in- 
dustrious agriculturist, gaining experience as he goes along and 
profiting by that of others, should not receive a remunerative re- 
turn for his outlay of capital, time and labor. This is especially 
true of those who embark in vegetable gardening for the winter 
market. During this season, on account of the large number of 



17 

Northern visitors, the consumption is very large, and so far it has 
mostly been supplied with canned productions. Not that the 
soil and climate would not give bountiful returns for well di- 
rected efforts in this branch, but the majority of settlers have 
so far been entirely absorbed in orange culture. The native 
Floridian or " Cracker," as he is generally called, finds it too 
much trouble to look after this class of work. The full extent of 
their industry is called out in cultivating a little patch of corn 
and sweet potatoes. One of them made the remark to the writer, 
" Oh, yes, you can raise plenty of green peas but it is too much 
trouble to pick them !" The few who have given attention to 
raising peas have been rewarded by selling all they could ofi'er at 
$4 per bushel during the winter. To show how fast they grow, we 
have peas planted at Orange Park, four weeks ago, that ai'e now 
up 12 to 15 inches and ready to bush. Corn in 6 days from 
planting up 2 inches. Beans the same. 

Last year one of the tenants on the land raised from an acr e 
which he did not even plow, only spaded where he put the seed 
in, .350 bushels of sweet potatoes, noAV selling at $1 per bushel. 

Strawberries are a Very Prolific Crop 

and very reinunerative. One man near Jacksonville, Mr. James 
Beattie, "has for the past three years cultivated one acre of straw- 
beries, and sold the first year so his net proceeds were $1,500; the 
second year $1,800, and this year over $2,000. So much for 
strawberries. Other small fruits do etjually as well. 

Florida is so situated that we can supply the Northern, and 
even the Southern, markets two or three weeks earlier than any 
other section of the country, and as the different crops follow each 
other in maturing this is quite an important item. 

We predict that the time will soon come, as the country is set- 
tled up, when the vegetable and fruit business will be so exten- 
sive that every morning trains will be sent out from Jacksonville 
with refrigerator cars loaded with these productions. One train 
up the coast line supplying the cities en route to New York, and 
the other on towards the Northwest, with Chicago as its objective 
point. The soil of Florida can raise them and the North wants 
them, why then should it not be successful to those engaging ia 
their production ? 



18 

In tliis State you can have on your table eveiy day in the year, 
picked fresh from your gardens, from 4 to 7 different kinds of 
vegetables. 

Northerners on coming here generally find much fault with the 
natives for being so slow and indolent. Mrs. Stowe once remarked 
to the writer in reply to a comment upon their indolence : " Na- 
ture sets them a very l)ad example in this climate. At the North 
if a man expects a crop he must bestir himself and plant it in 
the season, but here there is such a variety of food raised one can 
])lant something every month, and if they would rather fish or 
hunt this month than plant, they can just as well wait until next 
month to put in their seed." Indulgent nature in this genial 
clime even fosters indolence. 

Now in closing this subject one word to the 

Farming Coiuiiiuiiity of this Country, 

especially those on the Northei-n frontier. In many states the 
grasshopper plague has devastated your fields for the past few 
years. In other states, if your crops have not been destroyed, 
yoii have only five monthn in the year in whioh to raise from your 
lands what is necessary to feed your households and stock during 
the other seven months. In other words, you have been for years 
struggling along just barely making the two ends of the year 
meet. Does it pay to spend the best days of your life just 
making a living? Now comes the question if you can get a living 
having only five or six months of the year to work your land, 
ought you not to be able to realize much more than this where 
you can have 300 days in the year in Avhich to work, besides 
saving the expense of buildings, clothing and fuel necessary to 
go through the severe Northern winters ? 

These facts are worth considering. One acre of tobacco is 
worth more than 30 acres of wheat, and one acre of sugar cane 
more than 35 acres of corn. 

Florida is acknowledged to be the best sugar producing State 
in the South, and all other crops that ai'e adapted to the soil in 
proportion. In this country 20 to 40 acres is all any farmer 
wants to work and do it well, unless he goes into raising sugar 
cane, cotton or tobacco on a very large scale. Sugar is the great 
staple, and in Florida the crop is sure, the cane having no enemies. 



19 
Those who shoiihl not come to Florida. 

There is a class of people Avho come under this head. In the 
first place, if you come here expecting to see heavy black soil 
everywhere, covered with green gi-ass, you are going to be disap- 
pointed. 

In coming to Florida to raise the fruits of the tropics you must 
have the warm, sandy loam of this country to grow them in. 
We admit it is sandy, but it is a sand you can only find here, 
entirely unlike the barren, sandy sections of the North, as for in- 
stance along the southern shores of Lakes Erie and Michigan and 
some portions of New Jersey. In its composition there is a little, 
fine, black particle, which gives it a fertility almost unaccountable. 

You can go anywhere and see pine trees that are from 9 to 13 
inches in diameter and 45 feet high, that have grown in 10 years 
from the ground. Oaks and maples attain a growth in 15 years 
in this soil that would require 50 years at the North to grow. 

There are two reasons for this : first, the soil has the nutriment 
and warmth ; and second, they have the entire year to grow in. 
Don't think this is a barren waste, it is not so. The fields are 
covered with grasses, berries, &c., and the woods are full of flow- 
ers and vines, but sand is the foundation of them all. 

We have dwelt somewhat upon this subject because the consti- 
tutional grumbler will find fault with the soil before he has been 
in the State 24 hours, or has an opportunity to see its productions, 
to know what this sand can do. The last year the Mcintosh 
plantation (now Orange Park) was cultivated it produced, among 
other crops, 30,000 bushels of corn. 

If you prefer a cold climate don't come here for a permanent 
residence, for the summers are long here as the winters are long 
on the Northern frontier. The writer formerly lived in Wis- 
consin, where there are eight months winter and four months cold 
weather. In Florida the thermometer never gets as high as it 
does in many sections of the North. There are very few days in 
the entire summer when it reaches 90 in the shade. 

About Insects, Mosquitoes, &c. 

You will find them here, don't come expecting you won't, but. 
with ordinary care you can keep your house comparatively lre« 



20 

from them. There are sections where they are almost unen- 
durable in summer, such as low, swampy districts and some 
parts of the coast of lower Florida. The Florida mosquito is not 
as large nor as troublesome as the New Jersey pests. At Orange 
Park, or any of the high, dry land of the State, the insect trouble 
will be one of the least. 

Mrs. Reed, on the adjoining plantation, says she did not use 
any window or door screens last summer. How many at the 
North could haA^e lived without them last season ? Although, 
generally, you will find more insects in any Southern climate 
than at the North, but what you have heard in childhood's days 
of the reptiles, vermin, &c., of this country, then supposed to be 
uninhabitable for a white man, will never be realized as you be- 
come a citizen. 

The rainy season is the most disagreeable part of the year. Not 
from its heat, but on account of the daily rains which occur in 
September and a part of October. Coming at the close of the 
summer, you who are inclined to grumble, will put in a few words 
here, but these rains are very much needed to bring on the rapid 
growth of crops and trees at this season. 

In concluding this subject we would say, any who expect to 
come here and lie on the ground under the orange trees and have 
the fruit drop into their mouths had better stay away, for this is 
no such country, so don't come and be disappointed. 

The beautiful homes and orange groves with which this State is 
dotted, are the result of labor and constant care and attention. 
"VVe can truly say that 

Nature Does More Here for a Man, 

with a little care, than any other place on the continent, but the 
more attention your interests receive, the more they will repay 
you, and you Avill reap tenfold for your labor. 

If you come here with cheerful hearts and strong arms, willing 
to profit by the experience of others, and have got the pluck and 
ambition to surmount the obstacles that will arise in developing 
all new countries, then come, and you will soon have a reward for 
all the energy and well directed labor you have put forth upon 
your homes, and be assured, in coming to Orange Park, you will 



21 

find social and obliging 'neighbors who truly welcome all who ar© 
worthy of friendship and encouragement. 

A few prices of interest to new comers : 

Cost of clearing hard wood land, per acre, $75 to $100. 

Cost of clearing pine land, per acre, $20 to $30. 

Cost of splitting rails, per hundred, 75c. 

Cost of cutting fence posts, per hundred, $1. 

Cost of common lumber, per M., $11.50. 

Cost of doors, each, $1.50. 

Cost of window sash, 10x14, per pair, $1.75. 

Cost of nails, 10 penny, per keg, $3.25. 

Cost of labor, colored men, per month, $12, and rations of one 
peck meal, four pounds bacon and one quart molasses each week. 

Mules and horses, $65 to $150. 

One horse cart, $40. 
. Farming utensils and seeds, a little higher than at the North. 

Orange trees, from two to five years of age, from 15 to 75 cents 
apiece. 

Groceries and dry goods, very reasonable in Jacksonville. 

Freights are very low, as so many lumber vessels returning, 
bring merchandise as ballast at very low rates. 



ALL ARE CORDIALLY INVITED TO VISIT ORANGE 
PARK AND SEE ITS ATTRACTIONS. 

l^'Also, all who intend to have a Home in Florida should, 
before purchasing, see the productions we have to show and in- 
ducements we will offer to have them become residents of Orange 
Park. 



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